I'm In Love With A Stripper
by Babypeach16
Summary: When Vicki's death leaves Matt lost and broke, Tyler gets him a job at the Salvatore brothers' strip club. Horrified, Elena tries to get Matt out of his contract with owner Damon, but negotiating isn't as easy as she thought it would be. Will Elena get what she wants - life back to the way it was - or what she really needs? Fun for fans of Damon, Stefan, Matt, Tyler, and Ric!
1. Chapter 1

"Eleeeena, it's your birthday! Happy Birthday," Caroline squealed as she tackle-hugged me by my locker.

She stuffed the strings attached to several 'Have a Beary Nice Birthday' balloons into my hand. It was a sweet gesture, but I really wasn't in the mood for all this. I needed to find Matt.

Sighing my thanks, I tried to make my escape for History class.

"Not so fast!" Caroline grabbed me by the arm and wheeled me back around to face her with a surprisingly strong grip. Someone must have been mixing steroids into her nail polish.

"Caroline, look, it's great that you're so excited about my birthday, but I'm just…not. So can I please go to class?"

Caroline's lips slipped into a pout.

"No! You only turn eighteen once, and we are going to celebrate in style. This is a big deal, Elena – we are going to celebrate your induction into adulthood with an _adult_ party," she smirked.

"No, no parties," I told her seriously. I lowered my voice, glancing nervously at the clock. We only had a few more seconds before the late bell, not that Mr. Saltzman would rat me out. He had been very understanding toward Matt for the past few weeks…not to mention the fact that he was now dating my aunt Jenna.

"Caroline, it's only been two weeks since Vicki…don't you think it's a little soon for a party? I need to be there for Matt right now."

Caroline's face fell. "I know it's been hard on everyone, but…this is exactly what everyone needs to boost their spirits! A real party. And you know what, just to make you happy, I'll keep it small – just you, me, and Bonnie, okay? Girl's night! You can't say no to girl's night," she bargained.

"Fine," I gave in, exasperated. Caroline sure did know how to wear a person down. "Sounds…great," I lied. "I just need to tell Matt where we're going, in case he needs anything."

"If he needs anything, he can text you. Or Tyler. Tonight is _your_ night, Elena, and besides, where we're going is a surprise, and you're not getting it out of me!" With that, she snapped her mouth shut and scampered off to class, clearly worried that I would pump her for info. While it would be easy enough to beat it out of her, I was too exhausted to care.

"I'll pick you up at 7," she called over her shoulder. "Look hot!"

Rolling my eyes, I hurried into History, avoiding Mr. Saltzman's look of concern. The first thing I did upon dropping into my seat was to check on Matt.

Poor Matt. He was staring at the page of his textbook with glazed eyes. He didn't look like he was getting much sleep.

'Hey,' I jotted down in a note, pretending to care about the founding of Mystic Falls. 'How are you doing today? I called you a bunch last night to see if you wanted to talk – sorry if I'm bothering you. I stopped by your house on my way home from Bonnie's, and your lights were out.' I slid my note to the edge of my desk and waited. When Matt continued to stare blankly at his desk, I balled the note up and tossed it into his lap.

He jumped a little, but looked around and managed a small smile for me.

'Hey, Happy Birthday,' he wrote back. 'Thanks for everything you've done for me these past two weeks. You're the best. Yeah, sorry I missed you last night – I picked up a new job. Now that Vicki's gone, my mom has skipped out completely and I could use the extra cash. Are you doing anything fun for your birthday?'

I felt completely horrible as I read his response. Not only did his only sister die from an overdose, but Matt also had to support himself while trying to keep up with the normal demands of high school. And here I was, agreeing to Caroline's party!

'I'm sorry, Matt. I'm always here for you, you know that. About your job – if it's too much, you know Aunt Jenna and I would be more than happy to help. My parents left me and Jeremy way more than we need, and they'd want to help if they were here, I know it. As for my birthday, Caroline wants a party, but it just doesn't feel right.'

As I passed my note back, Mr. Saltzman stopped in the middle of his lecture and fixed me with a look. I stared back at him, biting my lip sheepishly. I understood that just because he was dating Jenna didn't mean I got unlimited free passes.

I wanted to ask Matt about his new job, and see what he thought about my offer of help, but he was the first one out of the room when the bell rang, and I didn't see him around campus anywhere after that.

With a heavy heart, I went home and was about to go upstairs to call Caroline and cancel my stupid party when I was intercepted by Jenna and Jeremy.

"Elena, you're home! Caroline just called to tell me about your party tonight – I have to say it's a great idea. She was awfully secretive about where you girls are going, though."

"Yeah," I sighed, perching atop one of the kitchen stools. I could admit defeat when I saw it – Caroline had definitely beat me to the punch by getting Jenna onboard.

"Isn't that kind of pointless?" Jeremy chimed in. "Keeping the location a mystery, I mean. This _is_ Mystic Falls, we're talking about. We have so many options – there's The Grille, The Grille, oh…and did I mention The Grille?"

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically. "Really, Jenna, I'm not in the party mood. I think I'm just going to call her and ask for a rain check."

"Well, that's just too bad." Jenna had that determined glint in her eye that she sometimes got. "Jeremy and I got you your favorite cake. You are going to sit down and eat some cake with us, and then you're going to go get ready for your party, and you are going to have _fun_, Elena. I know these past few weeks have been rough," she said sympathetically "but when you put them in perspective, not letting them ruin your birthday will be the best thing in the long run!"

I had trouble following her logic there – Jenna still had a thing or two to learn in the parent department, grad student or not – but I appreciated the effort.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Aww, man," Jeremy mockingly complained. "Jenna, why'd you do that? Now there's less cake for you and me."

I punched him in the arm and managed a genuine smile as I licked off a big fingerful of chocolate frosting.

Tonight wouldn't be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

"Eleeeenaaaaa!"

"She has got to stop doing that," I grumbled, stumping down the stairs in my stilettos. Even though I had been coerced into going out, I tried to follow Caroline's instruction to 'look hot' to the letter. For one thing, I never did anything half-assed. For another, if I resisted, Caroline would probably anticipate it and have an outfit backup that would make my most revealing clothes look like a nun's habit.

Jenna quirked an eyebrow in the direction of the window. "Caroline isn't very patient, is she?"

"Caroline has many virtues, but patience is not one of them."

"Have fun."

"Thanks, Aunt Jenna. I'll be back before midnight. I hope," I sighed, thinking of all the homework I hadn't done. It was still a school night.

God, when had I turned into the responsible figure in this family? Caroline was right, I needed to party on my birthday, if only to prevent myself from becoming someone who does homework for fun.

"Whooo, it's the birthday girl," Caroline sang.

"Hi, Caroline. I'm following your instructions, in case you haven't noticed."

Caroline scanned my outfit, a red silk sleeveless top with a tie front, and black skinny jeans. I had no idea where we were going (but, as Jeremy had said, most likely The Grille) so I tried to look good while staying somewhat practical.

"Me likey," she pronounced, scooping a pile of black lace off of the passenger seat so I could sit down. As she tossed it in the backseat, I assumed it was my back-up outfit, and I decided that I didn't want to get a closer look.

"Let's roll! Bonnie is meeting us there."

"Where is 'there'?" I asked politely. "We're on our way, so you might as well tell me now."

"Ooh, no can do, Elena, but thanks for the reminder," she chirped, digging a bandana out of the glove compartment and tying it around my head like a blindfold.

"Are you kidding, Caroline? I'm not wearing this!"

When I tried to pull it off, she slammed on the brakes, giving me a minor case of whiplash.

"Elena Gilbert, if you remove that blindfold or even peek, I will turn this car around!"

"Fine," I huffed, sightless. "Do it. I told you I didn't want a party."

Caroline was silent, and for reasons I couldn't explain to myself, I left the blindfold on in spite of what I'd said.

"I'm sorry," I told her finally. "Thank you for throwing me a party – I'm glad I have you to remind me to do fun things even when I'm not sure I'm up to it."

"You're welcome! And just in time, we're here." Caroline yanked the blindfold off my head, and I blinked rapidly, adjusting to a different kind of darkness.

We were somewhere out in the country. There was only one building in sight; miles of road, grass, trees filled in the rest of the space. There weren't even streetlamps.

I didn't need to ask what we were doing here, though. The building spoke volumes. Particularly the pink neon sign that spelled out "EyeCandy."

"Caroline…" I began apprehensively "…what is this place?"

"It's a male strip club, silly! You're eighteen, so what better way to celebrate than by doing stuff you couldn't before? I knew you'd never go for cigarettes – Bonnie and I got you a bunch of scratch-off lottery tickets – and we didn't think you'd want _actual_ porn, so we got you something even better!"

For once, I was speechless. Too bad it wasn't contagious. Caroline kept chatting as she dragged me inside, and as I became more accustomed to my surroundings, my fury grew.

"I cannot believe," I hissed "that you brought me here. This place is- "

"Great, right? I know, I've wanted to come here since my birthday, but Bonnie said we should wait until you turned eighteen, too, so we could all come together. I mean, we could've gotten fake ids, but around here there aren't too many people who could get us some and it would have been such a hassle, so we said, what's the point?"

"Caroline! Where's Bonnie?"

"I'm right here, keep your pants on," Bonnie teased, emerging from a shadowy corner. I had no idea how she had the guts to arrive here before us and wait alone. I wasn't even comfortable, and I was with my two best friends!

Then again, this place was pretty cool...

A large, T-shaped stage took up most of the room, which was currently bathed in turquoise lighting. Squashy velvet chairs were littered around the floor in varying shades of purple and pink, and small, simple chandeliers hung here and there. The entrance was surrounded by the kind of lightbulbs that made me think of Marilyn Monroe and starlet dressing rooms. The overall effect was somewhere on a thin line between enormously tacky and super chic.

"Happy Birthday, 'Lena," Bonnie smiled as she positioned a fluffy pink tiara atop my head. I glared at her. Lovingly, of course.

"Whose idea was this?" I complained, grudgingly allowing myself to be frogmarched to a seat that was front and center. There had better not be any stripper/audience interaction in this place, because if there was, I was most definitely in the hot seat.

"Mine, of course!" Caroline claimed credit happily. "Dana's sister came here with some of the senior girls on the squad when we were freshmen - she told us all about it at a sleepover, and I've dreamed of coming ever since." I stared at her incredulously, stunned by her glassy-eyed expression. Please, someone - get me out of here, and get some help for my friends!

Bonnie caught my eye. "Now Elena, don't be difficult," she warned. "Caroline and I are trying to do a nice thing for you, and you are going to _enjoy_ it. You're so...serious all the time - " she held up a hand to silence me as I started to protest " - and with good reason. Things haven't exactly been easy for you, and believe me, we get that. But we thought that this would be a good way to...um...loosen you up." She smirked at me, and I was torn between wanting to hug her and throw my stupid fuzzy tiara in her face.

Fortunately, I was saved from trying to formulate a reply by the dimming of the lights.

I looked around; we were the only people in the whole place, but apparently it was showtime.

"Ooh, a private show!" Caroline squealed as spotlights started moving around the floor and the strains of Kool and the Gang's "Ladies' Night came on over the sound system. Well, Caroline had been telling the truth, at least - it was girl's night with just the three of us, after all. Way to be positive.

"Ladies," a sultry voice addressed us, its owner unseen. "Are you ready to have a good time?"

"Yeah," chorused Bonnie and Caroline.

"I'm sorry," it went on pleasantly. "I didn't quite catch that. Are you ready to have a good time?"

"YEAH," they shrieked. I covered my ears.

"Well, well, well...and you, birthday girl?"

I looked around, startled. "Um, yeah. Definitely," I added as both Bonnie and Caroline nudged me in the ribs from either side.

"Well, we are going to exceed your expectations - you ladies aren't going to have just a _good_ time tonight," the voice went on smugly.

The curtains rolled back slowly as a fog machine sent white clouds tumbling onstage. A man's silhouette appeared in the mist.

"Prepare to have your mind _blown_."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks for the follows, and a special thanks to SalvatoreQueen for the first review - thanks for inspiring this chapter! Remember, reviews lead to sexy times ;)**

**Chapter 3**

I gaped as the mist cleared to reveal one of the most devilishly handsome guys I'd ever seen. He was bare-chested beneath a leather jacket, and though only a small strip of skin was visible, I ogled his toned body. The speakers quieted for a fraction of a second as the song switched out to "I'm Sexy And I Know It."

"Hell, yeah! We know it, too," Caroline yelled. I wholeheartedly agreed - not that I'd ever let _her_ know that. In any case, my eyes were too riveted to the hot piece of man candy in front of me to spare any attention for my friends.

He strode forward and stopped suddenly at center stage, his legs spread wide. His eyes snapped to my face as his hands went to the collar of his jacket. I could feel my face heating up as he oh-so-slowly pushed the jacket off his shoulders. The leather slid tantalizingly down his muscled arms, and I _may_ have been drooling.

"Girl, look at that body," Bonnie whispered reverently.

He so obviously worked out.

The jacket seemed to take forever to fall off his delicious body; when it finally did swoop toward the ground, all three of us gasped as he caught it with one, strong, very dexterous-looking finger and slung it over his shoulder.

He continued to swagger toward us, rolling his hips from side to side and showing off his arm muscles, impressive pecs, and downright delicious abs. As he neared us, he turned around and wiggled his goods - he looked back at us and mouthed "Wiggle wiggle wiggle," in time with the song. I giggled.

Loudly.

I flushed again as I felt both Bonnie and Caroline's stare, and hoped that they would be too happy that I was actually enjoying their surprise to tease me about it later.

Sexy Devil turned around again and smirked at me, and I wondered desperately what he was thinking. This whole time he had been wearing a pair of shades, which completed the whole too-cool-for-school bad boy effect but prevented us from looking upon the glory of his naked face. All I could see was tousled dark hair, a strong jaw, and that sexy-ass smirk.

Seconds later, I saw a whole lot more as he whipped off his stripper pants.

DAMN. I looked away for a moment, slightly flustered. I was no prude, but whenever I had been with a guy...okay, Matt...any intimacy was always the product of a loving, understanding relationship. Sure, I lusted after the occasional movie star like everyone else, but this up-close-and-personal viewing of a stranger was a new experience for me.

That being said, I was adjusting rapidly. As I took a breath and turned back to face him, I got an eyeful of Caroline's expression, and her eyes were practically bugging out of their sockets.

I found myself face to face with a pair of supple ass cheeks. DAMN! Oh my God, never in a million years would I have thought that I would be turned on by a man thong under any circumstances, but...it was suddenly kind of hard to control myself as he rolled over and started thrusting on stage in front of us.

Oh. My. God.

I was overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of desires I was experiencing - I wanted to lick him, I wanted to climb on top of him like a horny little kitten, I wanted him to have his wicked way with me, I wanted him to -

"GET IN ME," Caroline moaned quietly.

"Caroline!" I cried, shocked - even though that had been EXACTLY what I was thinking - and Bonnie reached over me to clap a hand over Caroline's mouth in abject mortification.

Sexy Beast let out a wickedly amused chuckle and our eyes snapped back to him. Bonnie released Caroline without looking at her, and we all gaped as he lowered his sunglasses.

His eyes. Were so. _Blue_.

They were beautiful...like sea foam...that I wanted to do dirty, dirty things with.

Our mouths were still hanging open as he reached out with one hand - propped up on his side with the other - and plucked the crown from my head. My mouth worked silently in protest, the product of some small, stupid part of my brain. Wisely, I managed to make myself shut up as he gently slipped his sunglasses onto the top of my head, pushing strands of my hair back as he tucked the ends behind my ears.

I wasn't breathing. I would never breathe again if he continued to touch me in any way. I never wanted to draw breath again.

And then he placed my fluffy pink tiara on top of his own head.

I expelled all that breath I was holding when I burst out laughing.

Sexy Beast winked and blew a kiss at me, and I couldn't think of when I'd ever wanted anyone more. The combination of his pure sex appeal and sweet goofiness was...intoxicating.

Almost immediately I felt guilty, thinking of Matt for some reason. I felt guilty for having such a good time when he was struggling with the death of his sister and money troubles. I felt even more guilty when I admitted that I'd never felt anything close to this for Matt, the guy I'd known and cared for forever - even if we had broken up, he was still an important part of my life, and yet I was suddenly more passionate about an absolute stranger, a stripper, no less!

Bonnie's hand closed around my wrist, intuiting that something was wrong. I smiled tightly at her to reassure her that I was having a good time, and did everything I could to squelch my shame so I could enjoy my birthday surprise.

Sexy Beast raised himself up from a push-up position straining his beautiful muscles. He stood up, ran his hands through his hair, and strutted back up the stage. At the entryway he paused, looked over his shoulder at me, and slapped his own ass. I bit my lip as he winked one last time, and disappeared.

As the next song came on, I settled into my chair, determined to enjoy the show. _Thoroughly_.

* * *

**Please review for more Sexy Beast eye candy! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - let me know who you want to give Elena her special birthday dance ;)**

**Chapter Four**

Why is it that whenever I start to truly relax and enjoy myself, things seem to fall apart?

There I was, settling in to have a great night watching dancing, semi-nude hotties, when the situation had to go and get AWKWARD.

After Sexy Devil exited the stage, the first sultry voice came on the loudspeaker again, which led me to think that it was _his_ voice. God, every inch of him was flawless.

"Ladies," he smoldered "that is just a _taste_ of the pleasure you'll be experiencing tonight. Please give a warm welcome to our best cowboys..."

We screamed in excitement as four bare-chested guys strutted out on stage, twirling lassos.

For a second, we admired their sculpted chests, their cute red bandanas, cowboy hats, and chaps.

And then we started to scream in horror as we recognized two of them.

"Tyler?!" Caroline shrieked.

"Mr. Salzman?!" Bonnie yelled.

The music kept playing, and the two unknown guys started to do the planned routine, but the two we knew froze, each wearing an expression of shock.

"Shit," Tyler said, and he broke eye contact with us, moving over to the other guys and joining in the dance routine as if we didn't exist.

Alaric continued to stand there dumbly, gaping at us in surprise. I didn't want to, I swear I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help checking him out. Miserably, I realized that the guy was _jacked_. He flushed as he looked at me, opening his mouth to say something, but then deciding to follow Tyler's example by joining in the line.

Both Bonnie and Caroline were cutting off my circulation as they gripped my arms.

"What. The. Fuck," Caroline said. Once again, I wholeheartedly agreed.

The kid who we had known since infancy and our history teacher, who also happened to be dating my aunt, were pelvic thrusting in front of us...wearing _assless chaps_.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The worst part of it was, as weird as it was, they looked _good_.

Bonnie, Caroline and I stared at each other, trying to figure out what to make of this mess. We reached a silent consensus of avoidance, and stared only at the two guys we didn't know. I did catch Caroline looking at Tyler a couple times, though.

The two random guys were definitely worth looking at, all on their own. They seemed older than us - well, one of them definitely did. He was tanned with light eyes and a surfer's bod. He flashed us a wolfish grin as he prowled past us. The other guy held my attention - he was paler, with swept-back brown hair and greenish eyes. He was younger, but seemed more serious...and sweet. He winked at me as he caught me staring, and I blushed a little.

Focusing on him as he moved his way around the floor, I was able to forget about Tyler and Alaric for a little while. This guy was so...cute. Sexy, definitely, but he had such a sweet smile that I could tell he was a good guy.

I shook my head and laughed at myself. What did it matter if he was a good guy? This wasn't like flirting with someone from school - there was no relationship potential here. This is purely a business transaction, I had to remind myself. We were here to look, and they were here to earn money. Nothing more.

But he did seem to look at me just as intensely as I was gazing at him...and he barely seemed to glance at Bonnie or Caroline at all!

Before I could scold myself for entertaining more than purely physical thoughts about our stripper, they exited the stage. Only in the absence of Mr. Green Eyes did I remember the supreme awkwardness of the situation.

"Oh. My. God!" Bonnie burst out laughing.

"What the heck? Though, I have to say, Tyler does have a pretty nice ass," Caroline mused.

"Ewwww," Bonnie cried, covering her ears. "Do _not_ talk about that. And don't you dare say anything about Mr. Salzman, either! I'm already scarred for life."

"I thought Alaric was pretty ripped," I teased her, only partially joking.

"Elena, I'm so sorry," Bonnie sighed. "We brought you here to have a nice time watching hot guys do their thing, and instead, you got an eyeful of our history teacher's naked butt!"

"It's fine, Bonnie," I assured her with a shrug. "I mean, now that he's dating Jenna, it probably would have happened eventually."

"Yeah, but not in assless chaps," Caroline snickered.

Bonnie started to shush her, but _that voice_ came on again.

"Alright, ladies, now that you're all warmed up, it's time for the Birthday Girl to receive her gift...introducing our newest stud, for your personal pleasure...Babyface!"

The mist swirled with magenta lighting as "Baby, One More Time" blasted out at us. A guy in a matching magenta man thong and necktie strode toward us, stopping directly in front of me. I scanned his body from his toes up to his face and went rigid.

"'Lena?"

"Matt?!"

This was so not happening.


End file.
